217

Serafina

My eyes adjusted quickly to the dark, which was good, because the stairs were slick with the light drizzle of rain that was falling. When I reached the bottom, I found a latched gate and threw up a quick prayer that it wasn't padlocked because I really didn't want to have to try to climb over it.

Luckily, it opened easily. I closed it again as quietly as I could, just in case someone was lurking around, so nothing would look out of place. Then pulled up the hood of my coat over my hair, which I'd pulled back into two braids to avoid any strands slipping out and giving me away. Something rustled in the brush to my left and I froze. But whatever it was, it must've run away.

I knew my escape was being caught on Luca's security cameras, but I was banking on the fact that by the time someone noticed I was gone, the only thing they'd see is me walking off the property. I planned to head one direction and then double back to try to throw them off as to which direction I'd gone.

I looked up, squinting my eyes against the drizzly rain. Luca's house clung to the edge of the rock formation that rose a good thirty or forty feet above me. From where I stood, the ground sloped steeply down to the lake. If I slipped, I could only hope that I could catch myself on one of the scraggly trees before I slid all the way down.

I thought about that for a second. Maybe escape by water would be the way to go. I seriously doubted there were any guards patrolling the side of a hill like that. But then I dismissed the idea. It was too cold, and I didn't have any dry clothes. I'd stick to my original plan and hope for the best.

Carefully, I followed the narrow trail of even ground that hugged the bottom of the outcropping of rock Luca's house was built on. My plan was to find the driveway at the front of the house and then follow it out to the gate while staying under the cover of the trees that covered the property. That way, if I saw anyone, I could easily step out onto the drive and use whatever excuse for being there I thought would work best. If I was found too far from the drive, it would be way too obvious that I was trying to sneak out. Plus, I didn't know how much land Luca owned, but I would bet my life that the perimeter was protected by a wall and guards.

By the time I saw the lights from the front of the house and the paved drive, my thighs were burning from slipping and sliding on the wet ground as I climbed up the hill. Outside the circle of light, I stopped by a tree for a few seconds and caught my breath. All three of the SUVs were gone, but I made myself wait, listening for guards. When I didn't hear anything, I pushed away from the tree and started following the drive away from the house. I kept my hands in my pocket and my head down, hoping my dark hoodie and jeans would keep me hidden in the dark. As I walked, I scanned the area around me as discreetly as I could.

My heart was beating so hard now I could barely hear anything around me as I blinked the moisture out of my eyes. I wished I'd checked the weather before I left, but then thought it wouldn't have mattered anyway. Tonight was my only chance, and I had to take it. If the skies decided to open up and drench me in a typical Texas rainfall, then that's just the way it was going to be. And maybe the rain was working to my favor. No one would expect anyone to be out and about in this shit.

I took a quick look to either side of me. So far, I hadn't seen anyone patrolling the grounds. Had they all gone with Luca? That would be a stroke of luck I'd never expected, and would make my life so much easier.

By the time they got back to the house, I'd be long gone.

Hopefully.

I was cold and damp, but after a few more minutes my nerves began to calm and I quickened my pace, not worrying so much about how much noise I was making. It didn't seem like anyone was around to hear it. At least not until I got to the gate. Luca wouldn't have left that unprotected. And I had no idea how I was going to get past them, but I'd figure it out when I got there.

It was really dark now where I was. No moon or anything to help light my way. But I wasn't afraid of the dark. The dark kept me hidden. It kept me safe.

An ancient oak tree with a trunk wider than my body suddenly loomed in front of me and I corrected my direction to go around it. Only before I could, something hard and heavy slammed into me from behind.

My hands came out of my pockets and flew out in front of me to try to catch myself before I hit the wet bark, but I wasn't in time. The air rushed out of me in a whoosh! as I hit the tree, turning my head just in time to avoid smashing my nose. The side of my face scraped along the bark, and I hissed in pain.

A man's large hand was plastered to the tree right beside my face, the knuckles wrapped in white bandages. A dark stain seeped through the cotton. Blood, I would imagine. A hard body pressed into my back, and I could feel his cock stiffening against my ass. A gravelly voice in my ear raised the hair on the back of my neck.

"After everything I fucking did for you, you're going to betray me like this?"

I almost laughed out loud. "Betray you?" I asked incredulously. "You're about to turn me over to my father." I practically spit the words at him. "When you promised me…you promised me… that you wouldn't. So, who is betraying who here, Enzo?"

He pulled my hood from my head and pressed his cheek to the side of my face that wasn't against the tree trunk. I could feel him trembling. His entire body shook against mine, and instinctively I wanted to try to soothe him. But then I remembered why we were in this position.

Frustration filled me as I tried to buck him off of me. I'd been so close to freedom. So fucking close. "Why are you still here?" I gritted out. "Why aren't you with Luca?"

"Because I can't stand to be away from you," he whispered. "Not now."

Kind of hard to believe when I hadn't seen him since that afternoon when he fucked me into exhaustion. "Then where have you been all night?"

"Watching you."

Maybe I should've felt more surprised than I did. Maybe I should've felt angrier that I was caught before I could get away. But I didn't feel either of those things. Instead, as the tension drained from my body, I felt such an overwhelming sense of relief that I could've cried.

But what I felt didn't matter. What I wanted in my heart of hearts didn't matter. I couldn't stay here with him, no matter how much I wanted to. To stay would only be delaying our inevitable separation. It might buy us a few more days together, but in the end, we'd still be apart, and I would be back at my father's. A prisoner. And there was no way I'd escape him a second time. "Just let me go," I told him.

Instead of answering me, he pushed his hips harder into my ass. I closed my eyes as my body responded with a rush of moisture between my thighs. I wanted to turn around in his arms and let him take me back to the house.

But even as my body vibrated with need, my head screamed at me to run. To get away.

He rolled his hips into me again, and his breathing quickened, becoming fast and harsh.

"No," I lied. "I don't want you. I don't want this."